I appreciate we are in the depths of winter and many of us are not fortunate enough to be able to head off to sunny climes at this time of year. However, it is a good time to plan ahead. I say this because we  had a rather glorious summer last year in the UK and may well again this year so maybe our … [Read More...]

It’s that time of year when sprouts are on the menu! Now I’m rather partial to a good Brussel sprout but there are certain members of my family who would run to the hills at the mention of sprouts with dinner and pull all sorts of faces if I put more than three of the aforementioned on their … [Read More...]

To anyone who has not studied science or chemistry or even those of us who have but have forgotten, trying to explain what pH is to someone who doesn’t know can be quite tricky.   The inevitable question of what the ‘p’ in ‘pH’ stands for occurs and Doctor Google and Wikipaedia aren’t much … [Read More...]

A couple of family friends have recently acquired puppies and not only does it make me nostalgic for when our dogs were puppies but you realise how unbelievably cute they were at that age. It also makes you remember how responsible you are for them, in a way, just like your own … [Read More...]

We have had an unprecedented summer this year so one would hope that the majority of us would have topped up our vitamin D levels. However, in the UK, vitamin D derived from sunlight exposure is generally only effective from late March/early April to September. Over the winter months, we are reliant … [Read More...]

In a previous blog we discussed how most sunscreen formulations contain elements that are damaging fragile marine ecosystems causing, for example, bleaching of coral. The Environmental Effects Assessment Panel of the United Nations Environment Programme has expressed concerns about this and the … [Read More...]

I think my children breathed a huge sigh of relief when they all eventually went somewhere else to get their hair cut.   I can’t say I particularly enjoyed the experience either; not only was there the stress of getting things even and balanced on either side of the head but there was always the … [Read More...]

I think the BBC series Blue Planet 2 shocked us all; the oceans are dying and we’re all responsible. I think the most distressing for us as a family was on a recent trip to the new Whale exhibition at the National History Museum. In a corner of the exhibit were pictures of the humps of four whales … [Read More...]

Fat is a difficult issue. You need it as an energy store, to keep yourself warm, to pad your bones and provide an attractive, comely shape to some of us. However, most of us constantly strive to have the least amount of body fat possible (though whether that is achieved is another … [Read More...]

The clocks have just moved forward, a move welcomed by many as it heralds longer and hopefully brighter and warmer days (though I do rue the loss of that one hour of sleep!)   And talking about all things to do with time and body clocks, it is interesting that the journal of Pediatric … [Read More...]

It’s not often that we come across a new disease entity. There has, however, been a surge in a type of hair loss that was first described in the literature in 1994 in six post-menopausal women in Australia. [Kossard S. Postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia. Scarring alopecia in a pattern … [Read More...]

Blue is a funny colour; it can bring out different emotions in people depending on the context; Sadness in the Disney/Pixar movie “Inside Out” versus Luke Skywalker wielding a blue lightsaber. (I have firsthand experience of this from having purchased the latter item recently for a certain family … [Read More...]

Consultant dermatologists see a lot of patients with acne and there are traditionally a few options available to us in the management of acne.   For mild acne, we prescribe topical anti-acne agents.; for moderate to severe papulopustular acne (red spots and pustules), we prescribe topical anti-acne … [Read More...]

If you’re thinking of doing house renovations or simply repainting your home, it can be a logistic nightmare; figuring out whether you have the wherewithal to do it yourself or get the professionals in, then moving furniture and arranging for it all to be done when there are no children or animals … [Read More...]

Though eczema can flare at any time of the year, winter is often a particularly bad time. Why? It’s often a combination of winter coughs and colds, and cold, crispy weather combined with central heating indoors.   Though not all flares in eczema are infective, they can often become … [Read More...]